1. A poor location

Look for a place that you can afford financially: in terms of both investment and maintenance. Your center’s position is crucial to its success. Check if the area you want to live in suits the type of people you want to settle in. Where should you set up your center?

2. A bad business plan

You should come up with a solid and clear business plan before even talking about beginning your coworking venture. Be careful to count the costs in ALL. For example, if you are planning to set up a coffee stand, you might ask for advice from a bar tender. Also, don’t forget the costs produced for your colleagues by events, activities and training sessions.Seek not to overestimate the occupancy rate of your offices in the “profit” column. Testimonies from coworking managers tend to show that income from office rentals turns out not to be as high as that related to event hosting, the availability of meeting rooms (this service is very popular among coworkers), the privatization of your coworking space, etc.

3. Missing out on the interior layout

Your members pay to work in a nice and comfortable place. Your interior must be welcoming and built to suit the needs and desires of your members. Be creative and original as far as office design is concerned! No need for your coworking room to be like any other open space! You need to think about how you can promote communication between employees…, No limits are set, but bear in mind that the coworking center needs to be light, airy and calming. The presence of ornamental plants influences those who take care of them very positively, so why not place some in your coworking center?

4. You did not set your deals properly

In what you want to recommend to your colleagues, be as specific as possible. Will you be developing tools for meetings and conferences? Do you want a culture that is very involved and dynamic? What class do you strive for? Work on the deals that you will be offering and adapt to your audience.

5. You are not planning on being part of a network of coworking centers

It can be extremely profitable to enter into alliances with other coworking centers in France and abroad. Being part of a program like Visa Coworking enables workers to go anywhere on the world while paying through a centralized process. It will, above all, encourage interactions with other managers (to share experiences, ask questions, and gather ideas…).

6. You have not though about the development of the community

The efficiency of your colleagues and their ability to find new ideas is highly dependent on their affinities. If you’re not improving the coworker culture, you’re sacrificing coworking’s main interest. You’ll scare potential customers away as well. Work on its creation before opening your center and set up appropriate tools to do so. Prepare a list of events that your colleagues will attend

7. You are managing your coworking center like any other renting office system

Coworking is much more than an open space! It’s got ta be fun! Be innovative, host lots of events and performances, and start fun activities like Casual Fridays or Jellys (relaxed brainstorming)

8. Giving up on a large audience… or the contrary.

Select the groups you want to draw before you go for it. If you want a specialized center (read our article): do not target a very limited audience (you risk not filling up your center). Do not do the contrary, aim too high and lose out on what your customers really need.

9. Managing on your own

Don’t overestimate your ability to run a coworking center on your own; it’s more difficult than renting an AirBnB! You should go for a small structure if you still want to do this on your own. It’s more ambitious your project? Become partners with other administrators of the coworking center to help and better manage a greater amount of work.

10. Trying to manage your center

Without an effective tool, you can’t manage your coworking space. offers you the solution to follow the operation of your center live, imagine your job level, bill quality, and host professional or festive events…